Vietnam have been drawn in Group K together with Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, scheduled to take place between March 22 and 26 next year.

Vietnam have been drawn in Group K together with Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers.
(Photo: AFC)

The draw took place at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 7, with 44 teams, including 24 teams from West Asia and 20 from East Asia, placed into 11 groups of four teams.

In the group stage, teams will play in a round robin to decide the 11 group winners and the four best runners-up that will advance into the finals.

As the host of the tournament, Thailand are automatically qualified regardless of the qualification results. So if they win their group or are among the four best runners-up, the opportunity will be given to the fifth best runner-up.

Vietnam will host all matches of Group K. This will be a chance for Vietnamese football-lovers to cheer the national U23 team in home stadium.

As the first runner-up of the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, Vietnam ranks first among five seeded teams in the East Asian region, alongside the Republic of Korea (RoK), Malaysia, Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).